What is Vertical Learning?
A group of mixed-aged pupils (taken from two or three years) taught together for the common good. It enables schools to offer a wider range of subjects, allow students to be grouped with like-minded peers and encourages a proactive approach to social interaction and emotional development.
Benbridge Academy is committed to the formation of small, vertical learning groups in the middle to upper school years, from years 5 to 9.
The Benefits of Middle Years Vertical Learning
- Seamless Transition from Primary School culture to the challenges of Secondary Education
- Mixed-age learning journeys: Benbridge Academy enables Year 5 to Year 8, and even Year 9 students, to work at their own pace in small, mixed-aged groups that align with their own needs
- Social and Emotional Development in groups designed to encourage positive communication through naturally occurring personal mentorship
- Independent and Collaborative learning skills
Vertical Grouping ensures a Seamless Transition from Primary School culture to the challenges of Secondary Education
A significant concern for parents and cause of anxiety for children is the move from the safety of Primary School settings to the perceived challenges of ‘big school’. Online education is an obvious remedy for these concerns especially if they are based in the reality of catchment areas of schools with behavioural challenges. More than that, online education that champions a ‘middle school vertical learning model’ removes any negativity related to Primary/Secondary transition.
Some would argue that the challenges of adapting to the socio-behavioural culture are a rite of passage, a necessary process to build resilience in our children. However, the percentage of school-refusers is on the rise which suggests that, for multiple reasons, more and more children are not able to cope with traditional mainstream schools. Benbridge Academy is committed to ensuring that middle years students follow a seamless path into the senior years of education free from the peer-on-peer pressures that cause Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) syndromes.
Mixed-age Learning Journeys
The traditional principle of batching students according to their year of birth does not benefit every child. It is clear that children mature and develop learning skills in different ways and at different paces. From an academic point of view, this means that a gifted individual can be held back by the median pace of their class.
By the same token, a student can be left behind when learning moves on before they have mastered a skill or concept. While mainstream teachers employ adaptive learning techniques to cater for different ability ranges, this is the reality faced by students, teachers and parents. The simple fact is this: age and academic ability do not go hand-in-hand.
A Teacher/Parent’s Personal Case Study:
My Child was an outsider, looking in, for many of his years at school.
“When my son was eight years old, his Primary School teachers took union action over a pay dispute which meant no school for him that day. At that time I taught English at a small independent school so I asked permission to bring my son to school with me and the leadership kindly agreed. My son spent some of the day with his age group in the Year 4 but later in the day it was not possible so he sat in on my afternoon Year 9 class. This group was a warm and friendly lot so they made him feel welcome. It was a bit of novelty for them and my son enjoyed it, too. So much so that he read along with the text we were studying at the time and soon began to put his hand up to answer questions. What became clear to us all, myself and my lovely Year 9 students, was that an eight year old boy was fully engaged in a learning process planned for fourteen year olds. The explicit comprehension of the text was not a problem but what was really impressive was his implicit insights into how Steinbeck encouraged the reader to empathise with Crooks in the fourth chapter of ‘Of Mice and Men’. Okay, he was a bright boy and some of the English teacher/parent influence was a factor. He was a reader like the rest of the family. But it was more than that.
Throughout the Primary years and into years seven to nine, our son was often the victim of seeming ‘misplaced’ from a social and maturity perspective. He’d come home from school telling us stories of immature behaviour, including the nasty treatment of others at the hands of his peers. As a child with a heightened sense of empathy, he found it difficult to reconcile what he witnessed. This meant that he felt like an outsider looking in for many of his years at school. I often think back to that afternoon when an eight year old took an active part in a Year 9 literature class with only his age and physical maturity setting him apart from the rest of the group.”
Social and Emotional Development
Vertical Groups in Years 5 to 8 enhance opportunities for Social and Emotional Development prior to the most demanding years of secondary education.
Vertical groups enable children to foster relationships with others based upon common interests and develop long-lasting bonds based upon natural affinity rather than peer, aged-related expectation. This is most commonly seen in schools that encourage extra-curricular activities across age groups. At Benbridge Academy, these bonds are encouraged through all aspects of school life: in subject classes, in social areas and through tutorials. Small, vertical classes ensure that peer pressure does not inhibit friendships, students feel confidence when expressing emotional responses and emotional intelligence is encouraged. This confidence and resilience enables our students to reflect upon their own behaviour, resolve conflict and develop a sense of belonging in an online environment that is secure and welcoming.
Independent and Collaborative Learning Skills
The undoubted advantages of quality online education- the development of independent and collaborative study skills– are key to successful vertical groupings in the middle Years 5 to 8. Benbridge Academy students benefit from the flipped learning model. They are guided through independent pre-lesson activities before attending live, interactive collaborative learning sessions with their teachers and fellow students. In these mixed-age group sessions, our learners benefit from open discussion and interdependent activities safe from peer judgement in an atmosphere of trust and celebration.
By the time they enter Year 9 and subsequently embark upon GCSE programmes, their independent study skills are ability to collaborate with confidence- gaining and giving inspiration to others in equal measure- are well-defined. These attributes characterise successful lifelong learners.
In summary, the benefits of a vertical grouping approach are many; at Benbridge Academy, combining mixed-age learning journeys, with the effectiveness of online learning is proving to be a highly successful method. Children do not all fit the same mold and we should, as educators and parents, be prepared to adopt a flexible approach to ensure that our young people are getting the education they need, and deserve.
